YouTube For AI Agents
FreeNot checkedEnables AI agents to search, watch, summarize, clip, and extract transcripts from YouTube videos, all without needing an API key or leaving the chat.
About
Enables AI agents to search, watch, summarize, clip, and extract transcripts from YouTube videos, all without needing an API key or leaving the chat.
README
YouTube for AI Agents
Claude watches YouTube so you don't have to
Ask "what's the best video on…?" and Claude finds it, watches it, and reports back. Drop a long podcast in chat — get the highlights in seconds. Cut clips, build reels, pull transcripts — all without opening a YouTube tab.
Quick Start · Try it · Discord · Demo
Demo
Click the image to watch the 1-minute walkthrough.
Quick Start
1. Install the plugin — inside Claude Code, run:
/plugin marketplace add JCodesMore/jcodesmore-plugins
/plugin install youtube@jcodesmore-plugins
Then fully restart Claude Code (quit the app and reopen).
2. That's it. No API key, no signup. Just start asking.
Optional: run
/youtube:setupto sign in with your own YouTube cookies for personalized search and recommendations.
Try it
Talk to Claude like a friend:
- "Watch this video and give me the recipe — I don't want to scroll the comments."
- "Find me five highly-rated videos on Roman history."
- "What are this channel's best uploads? Watch the top three and summarize."
- "Pull the actionable takeaways from this 90-minute interview."
- "Cut a 30-second clip starting at 2:15 from this video."
- "Combine these three cooking videos into a single highlight reel."
The agent searches, watches, and reports back — no scrubbing, no scrolling.
What's inside
Nine smart tools wrapped in two skills and one agent — search, watch, clip, and reel without leaving the chat.
| Capability | Try saying |
|---|---|
| Search videos, channels, playlists | "find me the top videos on…" |
| Watch and summarize | "watch this and tell me what matters" |
| Browse a channel or playlist | "what's worth watching from this YouTuber?" |
| Pull a transcript | "grab the transcript around the 5-minute mark" |
| Download video or audio | "save the audio of this video" |
| Cut a clip | "clip 2:15 to 2:45 from this video" |
| Build a highlight reel | "combine these clips into one reel" |
Community
Discord — chat, help, show-and-tell · Issues — bugs & feature requests · Contribute · More plugins
Personalized results (optional)
By default, search runs anonymously — no login required. If you want personalized recommendations and search results, run /youtube:setup and follow the cookie-extraction wizard. Cookies stay on your machine in the plugin data directory; nothing is uploaded anywhere.
Use it in Cursor, Codex, OpenCode, or Gemini CLI
The MCP server is portable. Per-platform setup guides:
Advanced install (without the marketplace)
Clone and build it yourself:
git clone https://github.com/JCodesMore/youtube-for-ai-agents.git
cd youtube-for-ai-agents
npm install
npm run build
Or wire the published npm package directly into any MCP-compatible client:
{
"mcpServers": {
"youtube": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@jcodesmore/youtube-for-ai-agents"]
}
}
}
Requirements: Node.js ≥ 18.
Built on
- Model Context Protocol SDK — tool exposure to Claude
- youtubei.js — YouTube InnerTube client (no API key needed)
- youtube-transcript-plus — transcript fetching
- ytdlp-nodejs — video and audio downloads
- Zod — schema validation
License
Apache License 2.0 — © 2026 JCodesMore
Uses youtubei.js, an unofficial YouTube client. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with YouTube or Google.
Part of jcodesmore-plugins.
Install YouTube For AI Agents in Claude Desktop, Claude Code & Cursor
unyly install youtube-for-ai-agentsInstalls into Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor & VS Code — handles npx, uvx and build-from-source repos for you.
First time? Get the CLI: curl -fsSL https://unyly.org/install | sh
Or configure manually
Run in your terminal:
claude mcp add youtube-for-ai-agents -- npx -y @jcodesmore/youtube-for-ai-agentsFAQ
Is YouTube For AI Agents MCP free?
Yes, YouTube For AI Agents MCP is free — one-click install via Unyly at no cost.
Does YouTube For AI Agents need an API key?
No, YouTube For AI Agents runs without API keys or environment variables.
Is YouTube For AI Agents hosted or self-hosted?
A hosted option is available: Unyly runs the server in the cloud, no local setup required.
How do I install YouTube For AI Agents in Claude Desktop, Claude Code or Cursor?
Open YouTube For AI Agents on unyly.org, pick your client tab (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor) and press Install — the config is generated automatically, no JSON editing.
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